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Patchwork Pig Quilt Store to host work day to make blankets for Project Linus

By James Fenton The Daily Times

Updated:
03/22/2013 05:26:32 PM MDT

Augusta Liddic/The Daily Times
Deb Williams, owner of Patchwork Pig Quilt Store, will host a work day on Saturday to make blankets to be donated to Project Linus, a non-profit organization that assists seriously ill, traumatized or at-risk children.

FARMINGTON — A local quilt store will host a creative-for-a-cause event Saturday to make and donate blankets to at-risk children.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., quilters and non-quilters alike are invited to come into Patchwork Pig Quilt Store and More (next door to the Totah Theater) to create a blanket that will be sent to the Albuquerque chapter of the national non-profit organization Project Linus.

Begun in 1995, the organization was inspired by a young cancer patient who said the comfort of her snuggle blanket helped carry her through chemotherapy.

According to the charity's website, Project Linus chapters collect blankets from individuals and local groups and distribute them to children in hospitals, shelters and social-service agencies.

Deb Williams, owner of the quilting store, discovered Project Linus online while looking for a cause to complement her passion for quilting.

"I was looking to reach out and get involved in the community," Williams said. "Providing blankets to children who are in need just seemed like the perfect fit."

Williams contacted the Albuquerque chapter of Project Linus and enlisted her store as its sub-chapter. Her store regularly hosts "open sews" with pizza at once a month to help bring people together to practice quilting, sewing, crocheting and to socialize and share ideas.

Extending the reach - and creative output - of her friends to help others means something special, she said.

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While she admits that not everybody who may want to help is a quilter - or even knows the difference between bargello or batting - alternative ways to help are possible.

"We want to encourage people to donate, in any way that they can," Williams said. "Whether they want to simply make a financial donation or, for example, buy $40 worth of fabric for quilters to use for Project Linus. We can make sure that more kids will receive a gift."

The majority of Project Linus blankets are about 40" _ 60", or crib size, according to the Linus website. Since the organization donates to kids up to age 18, blankets can be as large as twin size for teens.

"For kids going through rough times, a fresh new blanket can be a real comfort," Williams said.

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